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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;jerryb, post: 747291, member: 16838&quot;]I see threads on dealer pricing and/or gouging.&nbsp; When I first got into the biz in the mid &#039;50&#039;s the buy/sell of coins was, with rare exceptions, fairly consistent.&nbsp; Coin World had a mid-section to its paper that listed the retail <b>trends</b> of coins.&nbsp; Most dealers used that as a pricing guide. There were no slabs back then and grades such as AU53/55/58 were not used.&nbsp; An AU coins was just that.&nbsp; Sometimes we used Choice AU for a super super slider coin.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>When grey sheet came out with dealer/dealer wholesale pricing I remember I had to send in my Sales Tax license copy to verify that I was a dealer to subscribe to it.&nbsp; But, through the years, it became available to the public and the public seemed hell bent on buying at those prices.&nbsp; I was on Facts Teletype for many years and dealers stuck very close to bid/ask prices.&nbsp; I could <b>easily</b> sell a roll of 50D BU nickels at bid to other dealers with no problem. Today that wouldn&#039;t work in most cases unless the dealer has a very quick flip on the product.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Then came the 80&#039;s with high interest and a changing coin market.&nbsp; Many dealers started to offer coins at around grey sheet pricing to the public.&nbsp; And, of course their buy prices went to 10-30% below grey sheet like todays market.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Being a dealer now I base my buys on how fast I believe I can turn the product.&nbsp; A fast moving coin/set we will buy at 10-15% below bid.&nbsp; Slow moving stuff goes to 20-35% below bid.&nbsp; Another factor coin dealers use is: 1. am I flush with cash right now, 2. is my inventory low, 3 am I turning my inventory fast.&nbsp; If yes to all those my buy prices will be high.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Opposite position: 1. am I cash short, 2. am I stuffed with inventory, 3. is my turnaround very slow ----- well, then I offer much less.&nbsp; I am NOT trying to lowball and scam the seller --- <b>I am being realistic with my financial and inventory position.</b></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Considering dealers cost of operation dealers cannot work on 10% unless they always have the same amount of people in their buying line as they do in their selling line.&nbsp; If we could easily and readily buy/sell 100K worth of coins a week most dealers would work on 5-10%.&nbsp; But, it&#039;s not always that easy when you factor in all the costs to make a decent living and pay your overhead.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>When a legitimate dealer offers 35% back of bid for your coins, unless he/she is a shyster dealer, it is taking all the above into consideration.&nbsp; Most dealer to dealer transactions today are below bid -- that&#039;s right, <b>below bid.&nbsp; </b>Unless it&#039;s a super rare coin and the dealer has a home for it right now those are real facts today.&nbsp; You just cannot get bid from a dealer on common stuff (i.e., proof sets, mint sets, modern commems, current BU rolls, etc.)&nbsp; If you could I&#039;d go to the bank, pull all my stock, and ramrod it down the highway to that dealer --- and really grin when leaving with a good check.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Greysheet is a retail price guide today --- simple as that.&nbsp; Even slabs, that cost money above the coins value, rarely are easy to sell at above grey sheet.&nbsp; Just try to sell common date MS65 morgans at above grey sheet to the public.&nbsp; Sure, it can be done sometimes, but it&#039;s not an everyday occurance.&nbsp; Most go between bid/ask.&nbsp; So, that means the dealer has to pay 20-25% back of bid if he wants to flip them fast to a dealer -- he needs some wiggle room.&nbsp; If he pays 10% back of bid he will sit on them for a while as they trickle out to the public <b>(who, by the eay, has a copy of the grey sheet in their back pocket).</b></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Times have really changed over the last 50 years in the coin biz. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie11" alt=":rolleyes:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Are there exceptions to all the above --- absolutely.&nbsp; Nothing is written in stone but, as a dealer, you do have to be very very informed on the market to know what to buy, when to buy, what to realistically offer --- and then, hope you come out with a profit at the end.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Hope I didn&#039;t bore you all with this long winded post. :whistle:</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Peace to all :thumb:[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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